Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf has a great concept about dating a hitwoman but a dull final result in its execution. Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf 羊とオオカミの恋と殺人 Director: Kayoko Asakura (2020)…
Apr 24, 2023 • Subscribe
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Murder in the Crimson Manor / 紅蓮館の殺人
Murder in the Crimson Manor is lit. Actually, I think it’s just okay, but “Murder in the Crimson Manor is lit” seemed like a snappier opening, and obliques…
Three Stories of Love 恋人たち (2015) Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi
Three Stories of Love 恋人たち (2015), a solid drama about three different people breaking out from isolation and loneliness from director Ryosuke Hashiguchi
The Mannequin House Murders / 人形館の殺人
I didn’t like this book at all. I don’t have much more to say about it.
[Eight] Wolf and Sheep
Several years back now, I promised a friend of mine that I would watch one of his all-time favorite shows, Spice and Wolf. It was a series that…
Murderer vs. Maniac / 殺人犯 対 殺人鬼
While some books take a while to get into the action, Murderer vs. Maniac wastes no time. The opening scene is all about the protagonist ...
Murder in the Hall of the Eye: The Book / 眼球堂の殺人 ~The Book~
Eye see you, heheheh… The best way I can describe Murder in the Hall of the Eye is “discount Hiroshi Mori .” Which on one hand…
The Butterfly Murder Case / 蝶々殺人事件
While Kousuke Kindaichi is by far Seishi Yokomizo ’s most famous fictional detective, he is not the only one. Yokomizo also wrote many book...
Death Within the Evil Eye / 魔眼の匣の殺人
It’s difficult to succeed genius. Chrono Cross isn’t as good as Chrono Trigger , Bioshock 2 isn’t as good as Bioshock , and National Treas...
The Labyrinth House Murders / 迷路館の殺人
The shin-honkaku movement has always been a bit meta. It’s right there in the name: it means “new orthodox,” as it’s a revival of the origi...
The Black Umbrella Mystery / 体育館の殺人
The Black Umbrella Mystery is a story with the soul of Ellery Queen and the body of an anime protagonist. There are a few Japanese…
Hametsu no Koibito, Volume 1 (破滅の恋人)
We recently had the pleasure of three guest reviews for Plongée dans la nuit, the French edition of Yoru to Umi, by Goumoto. I had read the first…
Tokyo Sweetheart (東京の恋人, Yasuki Chiba, 1952)
A fake ring causes untold chaos in a small corner of Ginza in Yasuki Chiba’s charming ensemble rom-com.
Otona no Yuricon 2020 (大人のユリコン2020)
After a prolonged trip across the ocean, a long-awaited doujinshi has finally arrived at my home. And, like clockwork, the Melonbooks website is down for maintenance, so I…
The Town of Headcounts (人数の町, Shinji Araki, 2020)
A disaffected young man gets a fresh start in a utopian community but quickly becomes disillusioned in Shinji Araki’s slick dystopian thriller
This Year’s Love (今年の恋, Keisuke Kinoshita, 1962)
The intense friendship between a pair of underachieving boys sparks romance between their mismatched siblings in Keisuke Kinoshita’s charming romantic comedy.
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人（エトランゼ）』のあとがき
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Brief Thoughts On: Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep
Two women both called Imari Kakimoto meet by sheer coincidence. Could this be the start of a new friendship? Or could it be even more?
Street of Love and Hope (愛と希望の街, Nagisa Oshima, 1959)
A young man’s pigeon selling scam eventually ruins his cross-class friendship with a wealthy young woman in Oshima’s biting sociopolitical drama
Kinuyo’s First Love (絹代の初恋, Hiromasa Nomura, 1940)
The changing social mores of the 1930s are played out in the fortunes of two sisters unwittingly falling for the same man in Hiromasa Nomura’s romantic drama.
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Episode #87 (S11E7) – 100 Yen Love [百円の恋] (2014)
Film fan and podcaster Sam Inglis joins the show today to discuss Masaharu Take’s boxing romance, 100 Yen Love. We break down the story, discuss some of its…
The Age of Assassins (殺人狂時代, Kihachi Okamoto, 1967)
A mild-mannered professor is dragged into an international conspiracy in Kihachi Okamoto’s absurdist adventure.
A Bloodthirsty Killer (殺人魔 / 살인마, Lee Yong-min, 1965)
A hapless middle-aged man finds himself haunted by the spectre of wronged femininity in Lee Yong-min’s eerie gothic chiller.
Review: The Restless Sheep & The Lone Wolf -A Tale of Cutthroat Lovers-
I have some mixed feelings about The Restless Sheep & The Lone Wolf -A Tale of Cutthroat Lovers–, which I will be shortening to “A Tale of Cutthroat…
Thorns Of Beauty (恋のいばら, Hideo Jojo, 2023)
A jilted ex and the current girlfriend team up against a no good guy with compromising photos of them both in Hideo Jojo’s playful drama.
Willful Murder (日本の熱い日々 謀殺・下山事件, Kei Kumai, 1981)
A dogged reporter comes to the conclusion an industrialist was murdered but cannot say by whom in Kei Kumai’s searing exploration of the occupation and the economic miracle.
I'm a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! GN 1
It's not entirely fair to say that this is essentially BEASTARS Lite, but it's also a little hard to shake that feeling.
となりのメタラーさん
Author & Artist: マミタ (Mamita)Released April 2020 by Tokuma Shoten Publishing’s Chara ComicsGenre: Romance, Drama
This Anime Is About Murder And Love 😳
This Anime Is About Murder And Love 😳 ✿ Anime: The Dangers in my Heart #anime #animerecomendations #newanime #anime2024 #weeb #otaku
Ju-On: Origins 呪怨: 呪いの家 Director: Sho Miyake (2020)
Ju-On: Origins 呪怨: 呪いの家 Director: Sho Miyake (2020) is a largely forgettable entry in the horror franchise.
461 Days of Bento: A Promise Between Father and Son (461個のおべんとう, Atsushi Kaneshige, 2020)
Father and son bond through the power of bento in Kaneshige’s heartwarming drama inspired by papaben pioneer Toshimi Watanabe’s autobiographical essay
Whirlpool of Flesh (おんなの渦と淵と流れ, Ko Nakahira, 1964)
A intellectual professor and his wounded wife find themselves trapped in a toxic marriage after returning from Manchuria in Ko Nakahira’s fatalistic drama
Three Women of the North (北の三人, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1945)
Three female radio operators become the backbone of a moribund war effort in the last propaganda film produced before the war’s end.
Seven Samurai (七人の侍, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Desperate peasants recruit samurai protectors in Akira Kurosawa’s classic historical epic back in UK cinemas Oct. 29
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Spice and Wolf S2 – 4 [Wolf and the Consequences of Shallow Cleverness]
Alright everyone I have no excuse for how late this post was, I just forgot. Not to watch the show of course, Spice and Wolf is good shit!…
Horror of the Wolf (狼の紋章, Masashi Matsumoto, 1973)
A traumatised werewolf is drawn into teen gang intrigue after returning to Japan in Masashi Matsumoto’s visually striking exploitation movie.
Paradise Boys Love Game Review – Sun, Sand, and Murder?!
Paradise is a survival thriller Boys Love visual novel developed by PIL/SLASH and LOVE&DESTROY and published in English by JAST BLUE.
Banana Fish and The Golden Sheep
Whoops, it’s been two week and I completely forgot to edit this episode, so here’s what’s about...
Otakus&Office Romance: Wotakoi Love is Hard for An Otaku/I’m A Wolf But My Boss Is A Sheep
Dad Needs To Talk looks into a couple series that have office romance. Wotakoi Love is Hard For An Otaku; Im a Wolf But My Boss is a…
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Among Four of Us 4人のあいだで Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]
Among Four of Us 4人のあいだで Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]
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I’m back with the penultimate episode of Spice and Wolf! Season 1 at least. This is a big episode with lots of things happening. Some I expected, others…
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Spice and Wolf S1 – 7 [Wolf and a Tail of Happiness] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome to The Bachelorette Spice and Wolf, I’m your host Lenlo and this week Holo is super thirsty. That’s it, that’s the plot of this weeks episode. By I’ll…
Spice and Wolf
It’s “Stonks: The Anime!” No, but really. A mature, slow burn romance in a fantasy setting with several entertaining economic thrillers along the way. A change of pace…
House on Fire (火宅の人, Kinji Fukasaku, 1986)
An anxious writer fears collapse under the weight of fatherhood in Kinji Fuksaku’s adaptation of the autobiographical novel of Kazuo Dan.
The Seven Great Detectives / 7人の名探偵
Yukito Ayatsuji ’s The Decagon House Murders was published in 1987, and is credited with kick-starting the shin-honkaku (new orthodox) mov...
The Twilight Years (恍惚の人, Shiro Toyoda, 1973)
A middle-aged woman struggles to care for her father-in-law as his dementia intensifies in Shiro Toyoda’s empathetic drama.
Eleven Samurai (十一人の侍, Eiichi Kudo, 1967)
Faced with dissolution, a wronged clan plots revenge against a selfish and entitled young lord in Eiichi Kudo’s nihilistic jidaigeki.
Asyl: Park and Love Hotel (2008) Director: Izuru Kumasaka
Asyl: Park and Love Hotel (2008) is a fine feature debut by Izuru Kumasaka that gives us four women, the travails they experience, and the peace that emerges…
生成AIの台頭と知的活動の隔絶の心配
AIが発達しても好奇心旺盛な人間、自己顕示欲が強くこだわりが強い創作者、頭の良さがずば抜けている人たち、天邪鬼、変人、狂人は創作や研究において頭角を現し続けるであろう。これは変わらないと思う。しかし頭のねじが壊れていない、その他大勢の方々は知的探求において受け身に甘んじたり思考が単純化しそうで怖い。 趣味の世界で没頭できる余裕がある人は大丈夫だろうけど、駆け出しの十代や日々の生活でかつかつな人たちからすればじっくり研究したり徐々に技を磨く工程が「贅沢な道楽」となってしまうのではないだろうか。 努力せずともそこそこ面白い想像や探究が可能とするAIだが、思考や論理組み立ての基礎が脆弱な段階からAIに依存するとカンペだよりと同じ結果になりそう。計算機を使う前に基礎的な計算方法を知らないとミスが発生しても対応に苦慮するのと同じである。計算機やAIをけなしているのではなく、それを使いこなす教育の不十分さと人間の怠慢さを危惧しているのだが…… また創作や研究への情熱を理解できない人はその重要性を「有効性」「生産性」や「人気」でしか図ることができなくなり、ますます人間の特権である遊び心の領域が退化する不安が先走る。杞憂であればよいのだが。 そもそも知的作業を営む人間の数がごく一部になってしまい、最先端にいる人とその他大勢の間に大きな隔たりが生まれると中世ヨーロッパのように「ラテン語の出来る人とできない人」のように認識能力においてかなり決定的な差異が発生しかねない心配をしている。 中世においてラテン語ができれば古代の知識や遠方の人間との交流を可能とする学術の言語だった。ラテン語ができれば自らの研究が共有されやすく、他者の知的探求を認知しやすくなる。いっぽうラテン語ができない人間は他者（権力者その他）による解説に依存することにある。 これまで人は創作や研究における競争が行き過ぎると、その内容ではなく人格攻撃やプラットフォームでの上げ足取りや人気取りの小手先を重要視する傾向がある。もちろんこれは兼光の個人的な印象でしかないが、日米を比較したり、これまでのメディア業界の歴史を振り返るとそのような事象が目立つのだ。巨大な統一プラットフォームでの勝ち組負け組形成による不均衡の増大より、複数のプラットフォームで色々な競争があったの方が文化は豊かになると思っている。 プラットフォームの集約と生成AIの問題は別だが、片方がもう片方を悪化させる可能性は否めないのではないだろうか。 すごい作品ばかりが立ち並ぶ領域にいきなり立たされると人は委縮しやすい。最初は身近な箱庭がいい。家庭の中で、学校で、同人誌即売会の中で――ローカルで技を磨き、やがて本当に上を目指す人はより大きなステージへ。 しかし生成AIから手軽に研究・創作できると最初からグローバルでの競争となるために、気軽に身近な場所で下手の横好きから創作・研究が始められず、挫折する人が増えそうな気がして仕方ない。 これがすべて50代中盤のおっさんの身勝手な心配であればいいのだが……
Episode #54 – Night and Fog in Japan (日本の夜と霧)
In the final episode of the season, Kota of the Against Japanism podcast brings his extensive knowledge of Japanese politics and the Japanese left-wing to bear in this…